£525m aid pledged as floods threaten yet more destruction in Pakistan

More than £525 million has been donated or pledged to help Pakistan's flood victims the government said, as hundreds of thousands of people in the south feared more destruction.

Foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi yesterday expressed gratitude for the $815.58m (525.07m) in international assistance to ease the suffering from one of the worst disasters in Pakistan's history.

"When the West and Europe and America are in recession and donor fatigue is discussed, this kind of solidarity for Pakistanis very encouraging," he said.

The UN had appealed for $459m in initial response funds.

The worst floods in decades have destroyed villages, bridges and roads made more than four million homeless and raised concerns that militants will exploit the misery and chaos.

Saleh Farooqui, director-general of the disaster management authority in Sindh province, said floods had hit four districts, forcing about 200,000 people to flee to higher ground in the past 24 hours.

"The south part of Sindh is our focus. We have diverted our resources for rescue operations towards that area," he said.

Officials expect the floodwaters to recede in the next few days as the last river torrents empty into the Arabian Sea, state news agency APP reported.

But when that happens, millions of Pakistanis will almost certainly want the government, which was already constrained by a fragile economy before the flood, to quickly deliver homes and compensation.

The government has been accused of moving too slowly and Islamist charities, some with suspected links to militant groups, have moved rapidly to provide relief to Pakistanis, already frustrated with their leaders' track record on security, poverty and chronic power shortages.

"My village has been inundated. We travelled for hours and now the dispensary is locked," said Shazia Bibi, standing outside a government health centre in Punjab province. "Where can I take my husband? He cannot sleep because of pain. Whatever he eats he vomits it."

Some were grateful for help from Islamist charities.

"We use to think they were terrorists, but they were the first who came to help us," said Hidayatullah Bokhari, 45, a farmer. "They're not bad guys."

The flood has been spreading through the rice-growing belt in the north of Sindh district by district, breaking through or flowing over embankments.

The Sindh town of Shahdadkot was largely deserted. Most shops were shuttered, but some people said they would not leave.

Some had used tree branches and sandbags to shore up an embankment.

"This is the place where I earn my bread and butter. I live here and will die here," said shopkeeper Mohammad Jaffar.

Half a million people are living in 5,000 schools in flood-hit areas, and poor sanitation, cramped quarters and the stifling heat provide fertile ground for diseases such as cholera.